The Scientist and the Major
by Bladefanatic
Summary: Major Lorne is teaching a defense class. Lorne/Novak Note: Written before they named Lorne "Evan".
1. Chapter 1

"I want you all to remember E.T.G." Marcus Lorne was standing in the middle of one of the gyms on Atlantis. He had an attentive audience looking up at him from the floor. "That stands for eyes, throat, and groin."

The scientists from the Daedalus shifted nervously at those words, some even began to blush. Major Lorne, seemingly noticing their reaction, reminded them, "It might sound a bit crude, but this is self-defense people. There is nothing polite or politically correct about it. Remember that it is you or him." Lorne said, pausing to let his words sink in.

The Daedalus was in dock at Atlantis for the next month, and Caldwell had decided that it was time for his non-military personnel to get some "off world" training. Colonel Sheppard had agreed, but thought it would be a good idea for the personnel to learn some self-defense first…and an even _better_ idea for Major Lorne to teach them.

"For now, I am going to show basic self-defense that you can use against any human and get results. Later we will go over tactics for fighting against the Wraith." Before he could begin to demonstrate the use of E.T.G, he was interrupted by a loud hiccup. Lorne raised an eyebrow as some of the scientists snorted with suppressed laughter.

The crowd seemed to part of their own accord, showing the Major a woman sitting at the very back. She seemed to almost have a bird like quality about her. Lorne could tell that she had almost porcelain skin, even though at this moment her cheeks were red with a blush.

"Sorry," the woman hiccupped again, and turned darker. She pursed her lips together for a moment, and then let out a sigh. "Go on, Major."

Not quite sure what to make of her, Lorne tried to forget about the interruption and get back to business. "Imagine a guy 6'6" with shoulders so wide you wouldn't think he'd fit through doors and huge muscles bulging out of his skin tight t-shirt. He openly demonstrates that he lives in a gym and eats steroids for breakfast, lunch and dinner. How could a little thing like you with no muscles to speak of fend off an attack from such a huge monster?" Major Lorne went on. "That is where E.T.G comes in. The eye, throat, and groin areas will always be vulnerable for the simple fact that they can not be trained or toughened by exercise."

"But we have all those too," the hiccupping woman burst out, causing a small smile to form on Lorne's lips.

"Doctor…"

"Novak," the woman said, meeting the Major's eyes. "Doctor Lindsey Novak."

"You are completely right, Doctor Novak." Lorne went on, a full smile now on his face. Something about the woman just made him want to laugh. "We all have those parts. We will also be going over how to protect _from_ E.T.G. but that is a different lesson." Forcing his eyes away from the intriguing woman, he got his thoughts back on track. "Now, the eyes are a good resort for several reasons. The first being that they are the easiest to reach, and not only does the strike cause the attacker pain but blinds them to make an easier escape." Lorne went on to explain all the other vulnerable areas, and by the end of the class they had already practiced some of the moves with partners.

Later, Marcus stood to one side and watched the Daedalus scientists as they filed out of the gym. All in all, the first class had been a success. He had complained about the assignment when it had been handed to him, but he felt differently about it now. It was actually kind of fun to teach novices some basic things that could end up saving their lives, not that he would ever admit that to Sheppard. Suddenly, Lindsey Novak came back into his view. She was laughing with another scientist. The hiccupping seemed to dissipate as the class progressed, and after awhile, she had seemed to get a hold of herself, and showed a natural talent for the moves that were required for self-defense. Finding himself drawn to the scientist, he found that he had to stop himself from calling out to her. Instead he just watched with hooded eyes as she slowly exited the gym.

* * *

"What is it with you scientists?"

Lindsey whirled around when a voice called out from the hallway. There stood the man who had been in her dreams last night…_all_ of last night.

"Major, you scared me!" she said putting a hand over her pounding heart.

Lindsey Novak had come down to one of the unused gyms that night, to get some practice in before their next self defense class. Her mind knew that she had every right to use the gym, at any time of the night or day, but it still felt like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Sorry," Lorne gave her an innocent smile, but Lindsey wasn't dumb…there was nothing innocent about Marcus Lorne; and now she had the memory of his dimples to take to bed as well. "We are patrolling this part of the city tonight. I heard some noise coming from this room so I came to check it out."

"Oh," Lindsey said, trying to bring herself under control. She had not been affected like this by a man in years. She didn't know what it was about Major Lorne, but ever since their class she could not get him out of her head. "Well, things are fine here… so you can go on your way."

Lorne choked back a chuckle; the picture of Lindsey Novak ordering him to "be on his way" was almost too much for him.

"Good to know you're on the case." He teased, his smile growing wider.

Lindsey felt her face grow warm. Suddenly, she realized how her last statement sounded. She hadn't meant that she could police the halls better than his team; she was just trying to tell him that nothing was amiss. "I didn't mean… I wasn't…." To her utter embarrassment, right in the middle of her crazy ramblings she hiccupped loudly. Clamping a hand over her mouth, she had the strange urge to start crying. Usually she did not stumble over her words, but with the Major she was turning into a babbling idiot.

"Calm down, Doctor Novak." Lorne said. All teasing was gone from his face. He now felt bad that he had caused the woman to grow so agitated that she actually started hiccupping again. "I was just giving you a hard time, I knew what you meant."

"Oh…" Novak searched for something else to say to ease the awkward moment. Finally her mind hit on something he had said before. "What did you mean when you said 'what is with you scientists'?"

The killer dimples were back, as Lorne let a smile light up his handsome face again. "My team and I have come across about a dozen scientists in different rooms around Atlantis tonight. All of them chanting E.T.G to themselves, while trying out some of the moves we practiced yesterday."

"We believe in being prepared." Lindsey said. She had actually already known about the others practicing. Earlier today they had set a schedule so that the whole group could get in practice time.

"Don't get me wrong," Lorne was now moving closer, and Lindsey had a moment of panic. She wasn't very sure just _why_ she was panicked…but she had an inkling that it could be because a gorgeous man was still hanging around talking to her. "I think it's great that you guys want to practice, I just don't understand why you all are doing it for hours on end."

"We don't want to fail the test."

Lorne seemed to stop dead at that last remark. He cocked his head to one side, and raised his eyebrows.

"What test?"

It was Lindsey's turn to be surprised. "We aren't having a test?" she asked, horror blooming on her face.

Finally, the Major let his laughter come full force. "Are you all really practicing because you think you will be graded?"

"How are we supposed to know if we've done a good job?" Lindsey felt like the floor had just been ripped out from under her. No test? Life was made up of tests.

Lorne was looking at the woman before him in a new light. She was really upset that they were not going to be graded on their off-world class. He couldn't help but think she was cute standing there, in her little workout shorts trying to come to grips with it not all coming down to a A+; it was new for him to find someone who _wanted_ a test.

"So all of you want a test?"

She just looked at him like he was slow. Who on earth wouldn't want to prove themselves through a test? "Yes, we _need_ a test."

He should have known, that to make a group of scientists learn how to protect themselves; they would need the goal of being able to flaunt a good grade.

She stood there watching him as he thought that over. In her mind, the military guys had always been the butch ones who used a gun instead of their brain. After spending time on the Daedalus, her thoughts had changed about the military. Yes, they usually wanted to use a gun first, but they were smart. Novak found that she thought that Marcus Lorne was especially smart. A tiny voice in her head asked if it was smart or hot; but she was pretty sure it was smart.

"Alright, Doctor Novak, we'll have a test." At his words, her face lit up like a Christmas tree. Lorne's stomach flip-flopped as he stared into her shinning eyes. Hell, if this is what it took to make her smile at him he would give the group a test every time he worked with them. He still wasn't even sure what the appeal was of Lindsey Novak… he just knew that he wanted to see more of her.

His radio squawked, braking up the moment. "This floor is clear, sir. Only more scientists."

Lindsey was again knocked sideways by Lorne's smile at that comment. He had such a commanding presence even while seeming relaxed. He was so secure in himself, and that caused her to want to be around him. They really didn't even know each other, but she found that she liked being around him; he made her feel safe. She listened as he told his men to start on the next level. Lindsey found that she really didn't want him to leave.

"I'll let you get back to your practice," Marcus said, giving her a quick smile as he headed out of the room. Right before he hit the door, he looked over his shoulder. "Be sure and widen your stance, which will help you achieve a stronger base."

He was out the door before she could even get her thoughts together. Jogging to the opening she called down the hall.

"Thanks for the tip, Major."

Lorne turned, and felt his heart speed up. Lindsey Novak stood there in work out clothes, her hair pulled up in a messy pony tail, and all he could think was that she looked luminous in the soft light that lit most of Atlantis's corridors. He also finally let himself acknowledge that the doctor had legs that went on for days.

"No problem, that's what I am here for Doctor."

"Well, have a good rest of the night." Lindsey answered back, trying to find anything to keep him around a while longer. "Don't go finding any scary disease in one of the locked rooms."

"I'm not worried about that tonight; we don't have McKay with us." Lorne said, and then with a cheeky wink he was gone.

Lindsey stood a while longer in the hallway. Finally, she let out a slow breath. "Damn, he's cool." She said to the silent walls around her.

* * *

"What do you mean no test?"

"There is a test now." Lindsey hurried to tell the whole table. She was sitting with the scientists from her "off- world" group having breakfast. They were all staring at her in bewilderment but seemed to calm down after she assured them that their hard work would not be wasted and they would be graded. "The Major assured me last night that he would have a test prepared for us at the end of this course."

"Last night," Sarah Benning jumped in, causing Lindsey to curse that she even mentioned her meeting with Lorne. Benning always turned everything into gossip. "What were you doing with the Major last night?"

Novak felt her face flame. She had nothing to be embarrassed about, but just that speculative look on Benning's face made her nervous. "He and his team found me practicing while they were on rounds. We had a quick word, and then he left."

Sarah looked like she was about to press for more information, when Tyler jumped in. "You didn't have him help you out on moves did you?" Then before waiting for an answer, he stood up and pointed accusingly at Lindsey. "No cheating, Novak. We already talked about that rule; no one can get help from the Major unless it is in class."

"I didn't…" Lindsey started to defend herself, when another scientist jumped in.

"You're just mad because you didn't think of it first, Tyler. The rule, if you will remember, stated that we can't get help from _other_ military personnel. It said nothing about getting help from the one who is teaching us. So Tyler, unless you have forgotten what the world teach means, then it is perfectly okay for Novak to get help from our teacher."

"I didn't ask for any help…" Again, Novak was cut off by a furious Tyler.

"Fine! If that is how you want to interpret the rule, although some could call it a loop hole, then we should change the rule to clearly state that it is okay to seek help from Major Lorne."

"You guys have rules?"

The two men fighting it out visibly jumped. The whole table looked around and saw Major Lorne standing behind Tyler. Lindsey could tell that he was clearly amused by them, and holding back a laugh.

"Of course we have rules," Tyler huffed, as he sat back down at the table. "It is how we can all be sure it is a fair test, and no one tries to cheat." He said the last shooting a glare at Lindsey.

Marcus saw the glare, and didn't like that it was pointed at Lindsey. He couldn't understand what all the fuss was about, but could see the accusation of cheating was hitting Novak hard. The need to protect her welled up inside him.

"Doctor Novak did not search me out to get pointers." Lorne said, his tone challenging anyone to disagree with him. "Besides, she doesn't need them." A smile was back on his face, but it was not a friendly one as he looked straight at Tyler. "If _anyone_ needs to get some extra help it would be you, Doctor Tyler."

Tyler sat gaping, his mouth hanging wide open. The rest of the table hid smirks at Lorne's statement. Tyler was indeed the worst of the class, so far, but the man had such a big ego her refused to entertain the notion that he wouldn't be the best in the class.

"As to getting extra help from me," Marcus went on giving the rest of the table a true smile, "if I am here and available, I will be more than happy to help you."

At that, the table began to talk excitedly together; probably coming up with a schedule of when everyone could get his help. Shaking his head at what these groups of scientists were doing, he made his way back out of the mess hall. He was half way down the hall, when he heard his name being called. Turning, he saw Novak walking after him. His nerves immediately went on high alert. Ever since the night before, he had been trying to think of ways to come in contact with the woman. Now here she was seeking him out.

"Did you mean it?" Lindsey asked, trying to catch her breath. Lorne seemed to be able to get from one end of the mess hall to the other in lightning speed. She had to run to catch him.

"Mean what, exactly?" the Major asked.

"That I wouldn't need extra help…I mean….that I was doing good?" Her words tumbled out of her of their own accord. She didn't want to admit it, but this class had her worried. She wasn't good under pressure, and the fact that Lorne had told the others that she was doing well had really caught her by surprise.

Marcus could see the vulnerability on her face. "We have only had one class, so it is hard to say for certain who will be the best, but everything that I have seen shows me that you have a knack for the movements."

Lindsey's body relaxed a bit at his words. Lorne forced himself not to tease her. Who would have thought that a little self-defense class would have a whole group of scientists so on edge?

"Well thank you, Major Lorne."

"Call me Marcus." Lorne said, taken back by his own words. He hadn't planned on saying that.

Lindsey just blinked at him a few times, making him want to squirm. Hell, it was just going by first names, it wasn't a marriage proposal! He felt better, when after a few seconds a small smile appeared on her face.

"Okay, Marcus, you may call me Lindsey." Novak said, and then hurried on. "Although, I really think we should go by our titles when we are in class…we don't want people saying that just because we are friends you are giving me preferential treatment….I mean not that we can really be called friends, we just met…although if we are calling each other by first names that does lead one to believe that we will become friends sooner or later…"

"Take it easy, Lindsey." Marcus cut off her babbling, trying not to laugh. What was it about this scientist that made him take notice? She was the opposite of who he would normally be interested in. Case in point, she was nearly hyperventilating just because they were calling each other by their first names. "I agree that we should call each other by our titles in class, and yes, we are becoming friends."

"Oh, okay….good." Lindsey said, trying to keep her blush from surfacing. Why did she become a lunatic every time she tried to talk to this man? For that matter why would a man like Marcus, _want_ to be her friend?

"Yeah, good." Lorne agreed with Lindsey, not being able to stop the smile that came to his mouth. Looking back down the hall, he saw some of the scientists she had been sitting with coming. "We better not be seen talking to each other in the halls." He couldn't resist teasing, "They might think you are trying to get test information out of me."

Lindsey's eyes became wide, as she too spotted the scientists headed their way. "You're right," she said starting to walk away from him. "I'll see you in class."

"I was joking." Marcus called after the retreating figure, but Lindsey did not acknowledge him. Looking up to the ceiling, Lorne rolled his eyes. "Scientists." He sighed, and then continued down the hall.

* * *

"Of course they would have rules." McKay called from under the drone chair.

Sheppard and Lorne just looked at the man as he played around with more of the Atlantis circuitry. Lorne had gone to give Sheppard an update about some of the exploration he and his men did of Atlantis, when his commanding officer had asked about the off-world training class.

"How else would they be able to make sure the test would be fair?" McKay went on, undisturbed that the Lorne was looking at him like he was crazy. "Also I agree with, what's his name…Novak got off on a technicality. She should have never asked you for help. Rather brilliant of her to find a way around the rule."

"She didn't ask me for help, Rodney." Marcus began to fight with the man, and then threw up his hands. "Why am I even explaining this to you? All you scientists are nuts! It is just a simple self-defense class in case any of them go off-world. There is no need for all these rules, and tests."

"No tests!?" Rodney came to his feet, shock was written all over his face. "I had to take a test."

"That was because you demanded one, Rodney." Sheppard said, rolling his eyes. "You didn't even do that well on it."

"That is only because I was doing the test against you and Ford. Of course the military would get a higher grade then me; you set an unfair grade curve." Rodney snarled, his face going red. "I am sure that I would have top marks against the Daedalus scientists."

Sheppard just smiled. He loved reminding McKay that he didn't get a good grade on the mock test had had forced them all to take. "What about Teyla? She isn't military."

"Oh, please, she doesn't count. Her whole life has been spent training to keep her people safe."

"She still got a better score then you." Sheppard said lightly, leaning back on the heels of his feet, his hands in his pockets.

McKay just glared at Sheppard for a while, and then slowly made his way back to the chair. Lorne could make out some of the mumbling. Mostly he caught words like "fly boy" and "gun crazy".

"So you knew that I would have this exact problem with the scientists?" Marcus asked Sheppard, a note of chastisement in his voice.

"Of course I knew. Why else would I make you in charge of their training? Trying to train _one_ McKay was enough for me."

* * *

"I thought I would find you here."

Lindsey whirled around, in a scene that was very familiar. She had actually been waiting for him to show up, and wasn't scared this time.

"Is your team still going through this part of Atlantis, Marcus?" Lindsey asked a smile on her face.

"Nope," he said, leaning against the doorway. "We are four stories down; I just figured I would stop by here before we got started."

It had been three weeks since the off-world class had begun. The group had gone through their basic defense moves, as well as ways to defend themselves from the feeding hand of the Wraith. They had just gone through the correct way to use a Wraith stunner (with only one mishap, and Tyler was fine a few hours later), and were about to start their M9 training.

Lindsey had faithfully come down to "her" training room three times a week, and Marcus had always managed to show up. They seemed to have an understanding between them. She would come down to practice, but made sure she got there in time for Lorne to "stop by" before he had to start his patrol. At first it was awkward, but as time went on they were able to laugh and talk about most anything.

"Has Colonel Sheppard told you when the patrolling of Atlantis is going to come to an end for you guys?" Lindsey asked, as she moved away from the practice dummy to get a drink from her water bottle. The dummy had shown up in her practice room about the second week of coming here. Lorne would still not admit to being the one to drag it in, but every time Lindsey looked at it she was hit with thoughts of just how kind he was.

"Sheppard is running patrol duty a month at a time." Marcus said, sliding down the wall to sit next to her on the floor. "I think he is just trying to put off his own team having to do it as long as possible."

"You can't blame him," Lindsey said with a snort. "The last time they went out, McKay fell down a stairway and broke his arm. From what I understand, all of Atlantis had to listen to him whine and complain about the pain for weeks…even after Beckett had cleared him for duty."

"You know, for someone who is not even stationed at Atlantis, you sure know all about our dirt." Lorne teased, "Are you hacking into secure files?"

"It just helps to have girlfriends here who can't wait to tell you the gossip the second you step off the Daedalus." Lindsey joked, turning her head to smile at Lorne sitting beside her.

Their eyes met, and the tension in the room changed dramatically. The air felt charged around them. Lindsey had a hard time getting a breath in, and was sure Marcus could hear her heart beating. They had been moving steadily towards something each time they talked in this room, and she was pretty sure that nameless "something" was going to happen tonight.

She was beautiful. That was the only thing that had been running through his head for days now. During class time, he was hard pressed not to let his eyes follow her around the room. Marcus found that he would try and will the hours to go by so he could come to this tiny room, just to talk to her. They had first just talked about every day things. How they came to be in their jobs, what family life was for them back home. They laughed at each others stories about childhood, and somewhere along the line he had fallen for her.

Slowly, he reached out a hand to tuck loose hair behind her ear. He let his hand rest gently on the base of her long neck. He could feel her pulse beating erratically, and was amused that it seemed to match the pace of his own pulse.

"We can walk away right now, if you want to Lindsey." He said softly.

Lindsey looked at him for a second, and then dropped her head. Thinking that this was her answer, he slid his hand away from her neck. Suddenly, her small hand grabbed his, and brought it back to her neck.

"I don't want to walk away." She said, her dark eyes looking into his. Then, in true Novak style, she was off and running. "We just need to think about this. We can't go around like teenagers mooning over each other. What about our jobs? I am not even on Atlantis. So what does that make this? A crazy one month thing…well really not even a month because we only have two weeks left, and then the Daedalus is going to Earth again…we can't…"

Marcus turned, bringing Lindsey's body to him. He brought his head down closer to hers. His lips were hovering just a tiny bit above hers. "Lindsey, shut up." Marcus whispered before he let his lips descend the rest of the way.

Lindsey thought he had some good advice. Shutting up and kissing him was probably the best decision they had ever made together. Then all the reasons why this could and should not work began clogging her brain. First of all, what did he even see in her? Was it just that he had run though every other woman here? No, she knew Marcus better than that. He wasn't a womanizer, although not too many women on Atlantis would say no if he asked. So why her?

"Lindsey," Lorne sighed, bringing her right back to the situation. He pulled away from her. "You're thinking too hard. I might be even a little hurt that my kiss was so boring that your mind wandered."

"No, your kiss wasn't boring." Lindsey said, her face flaming. "Let's try it again, I won't think of anything else."

Marcus looked at her for a beat and then threw his head back and howled with laughter. Leave it to Lindsey to say that they just needed to "practice" kissing.

Lindsey didn't know if she should laugh with him, or tell him to go to hell and leave the room. She was in uncharted territory here. Finally he seemed to bring himself under control. Sighing he leaned his head back against the wall.

"Why is it that every time I am around you, I turn into an unsure teenage boy?" Lorne finally said, shifting his eyes to her.

"You? I'm the one who messes up easy things like a kiss." Lindsey answered back, settling her body closer to his. After a moment, she was even brave enough to rest her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in even closer, and she let herself relax, feeling comfortable and secure in his hold."

"So, Doctor, what is our problem?" Marcus asked resting his own head on top of hers.

"Why me?" Lindsey finally voiced the thoughts that had been running through her head for days. "I'm nobody Marcus. You could have any woman here. I just keep thinking this is some weird science experiment you are testing out."

"Hey," he pulled back, and maneuvered himself so that he could look directly into her eyes. "There is no science experiment Lindsey. Even if I could have any woman here, which is highly doubtful, I would only want to be with you. I think I fell for you the minute you hiccupped in that first class."

"You _would_ bring that up." She said, giving him a playful shot to the shoulder. He just gave her one of his full on smiles. No matter how many times she saw that smile, it still made her stomach flip-flop and her knees go weak. Lindsey reached up her hand, and touched his cheek. "I love your smile."

Marcus turned his head and kissed her palm. "I love your legs."

"My…why you…" Lindsey laughed, and again gave him another shot to the shoulder. He just laughed, and brought her up against him again. Suddenly the radio came to life.

"Damn," Lorne sighed, at the interruption. Lindsey looked at her watch and saw that it was about ten minuets passed when he usually left. "Lorne here."

"Major we are at the south side door."

Lorne's eyebrows lifted, and he gave Lindsey a smile. Letting go of the talk button, he spoke to her again. "That's just his way of asking me nicely to get my butt there." Lindsey held back a giggle, as he pushed his radio button. "Understood, I'm on my way."

"Yes, Sir."

Standing up, Lindsey helped him get his pack back on. He checked that everything was correctly in place before gathering her in his arms again. This time, his kiss was full of promise. Breaking away too quickly for both of them, Lorne leaned his forehead against Lindsey's.

"Have dinner with me tomorrow."

"Is that even proper?" Lindsey asks, and then felt her face heat up. Like what they were doing now was proper. "I mean, you are my teacher."

"Lindsey, this is not college. I'm not a professor, and you are not a nineteen year old. We have every right to have a date. You are not under my command, and you are a civilian…there is nothing stopping us besides your group of scientists and their crazy rules."

"You're right," Lindsey said, giving him a small smile. "Who cares if they think I am cheating by having dinner with you."

"Right," Lorne smiled and they began to move towards the door. He gave her hand a squeeze and then started walking down the hall. Right before he turned the corner, he glanced back at her, a sparkle in his eyes. "Besides, you would have to do a lot more than have dinner with me, if I was going to rig the test for you."

"Oh, very funny!" Lindsey yelled at the retreating figure. It warmed her heart when she heard his laugh float back to her. Hugging herself, she found that a smile had formed on her face that she couldn't get rid of. For whatever reason, Major Marcus Lorne was interested in her…and she was going to enjoy it.

* * *

The next morning Lindsey found herself trying to get the courage to knock on Katie Brown's door. The botanist had always been very nice to her when the Daedalus had come to Atlantis, and now she was in need of a favor. Taking a deep breath, she gave a quick rap.

After a few seconds, the door slid open. Lindsey could tell that Katie was shocked to see her, but decided she didn't have time to explain everything, so got down to the basics.

"I have a date with Major Lorne tonight, and I need a dress."

* * *

"Do you think the black dress or blue one is better?" Martha asked the group surrounding Lindsey.

After the initial shock had worn off, Katie had immediately swung into action. Feeling that they needed more help, she had knocked on a few more doors. Lindsey had sat in the botanist's room, growing more and more embarrassed as girl after girl piled into the room. Some had come with makeup, others with curling irons, and hairspray. It seemed that the whole group had taken it upon themselves to find the look that was sure to bring the Major to his knees.

Dresses had been scrounged up from everyone's closet. Lindsey was surprised at how many women had brought dresses with them. Her own down-time clothing was mostly jeans and t-shirts with enough workout apparel to mix and match with. The group had made her try on every single one that was her size, as they rated them. It was now down to two dresses.

"Defiantly black," Laura Cadman called from the back of the group. "That slinky number will kill Lorne."

Cadman had been passing by Katie's room, when Miko had opened it to run and grab a different pair of shoes. The Lieutenant had forced her way into the room, not being able to stay out of what could be great gossip. At first, Lindsey had been terrified that she would go and tell all her military buddies what was going on and get a big laugh out of it, but soon calmed down when Laura had entered into the fun with as much gusto as the others.

"I don't know," Lindsey said as everyone began agreeing with Cadman. "It was kind of low cut."

"Exactly, that's what makes it perfect." Laura answered back, causing the whole room to giggle like a bunch of teenagers.

Lindsey found that she had to laugh as well. It had been years since she had let her hair down, so to speak, and just be a girl. She was one of the top scientists in her field, but it was still a "man's world" out there. It was kind of nice, to let herself be girly for once.

"The black it is." Novak finally said.

That decision made, the group began going over the different make up schemes to go along with the dress.

* * *

Lindsey found herself again at a doorway trying to get the courage to knock. This time, it wasn't for a dress. Looking down at herself, she was starting to worry that she shouldn't have worn the black dress after all. Several people had watched her walk by, their mouths hanging open…she still wasn't sure if that was a good sign. It also didn't help that all of Atlantis was sure to hear about this. Suddenly Cadman's words came back into her head. The Lieutenant had told her that a girl could never go wrong with a little black dress…especially when she had the figure to back it up with. Lindsey felt her confidence rise when she thought about that. She looked pretty damn good, if she said so herself, and it was about time she quite hiding behind her Daedalus uniform.

She knocked, and forced herself to stay put.


	2. Chapter 2

"You look…" Lindsey's smile grew wider as Marcus tried for what had to be the fourth time to say something

"You look…" Lindsey's smile grew wider as Marcus tried for what had to be the fourth time to say something. He stood there looking shell shocked. His befuddlement set her ego soaring. Feeling brave, she shifted her legs, letting the dress ride up just a tiny bit higher. Marcus's eyes glazed over, and she wasn't sure he was still breathing.

"I look what, Major?" Her flirting was what shocked her most of all. _Damn_, Lindsey thought to herself, _this dress must have magical powers_. Lindsey had never felt so feminine in her life. She would have never believed that she could stop a man like Marcus in his tracks, but here she was making him sweat. She owed Cadman **big** time.

Marcus was sure he must have blacked out for a moment. One second he had been answering the door, and now he was looking at what had to be the sexiest pair of legs ever created. Letting his eyes follow the legs up, every nerve in his body was humming. Feeling sure that he looked like a complete ass, staring at her like a love sick fool, Marcus forced himself to form a coherent sentence. "Wow!" Okay, so that wasn't really a sentence, but it was better than the gaping he _had_ been doing.

Lindsey couldn't handle it anymore. This had brought her into all new territory, and even though it was somewhat liberating, she figured she better do something before he burst a blood vessel. Deciding that she was done with the whole sex bomb thing, she burst out laughing. "Wow?" She teased, "Is that the _best_ you can do Lorne? What happened to my smooth talking Major?"

Meeting her sparkling eyes, Lorne felt his whole body relax. This was the Lindsey he knew. She was wrapped in one mouth watering package, but was still the goofy scientist he had come to care for. "Wow, is just the beginning, Doctor." He circled his arms around her waist, pulling her into the room, letting the door slide shut after them. "Add to that smart, kind, and one hell of a sexy woman; then you might hit somewhere near what I'm thinking."

"Hmm, nice." Lindsey whispered, cuddling more into the heat of his body. Her softness molded against his hardness, creating a wonderful sensation for them both. "It's a pity, though." She said pulling back to look up at him.

"What is?"

"How long it took for me to look like this, seeing as how in a few minutes you will have wrecked the effect."

"Wrecked the effect?" Lorne looked at her in puzzlement, and then smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and slid her body up against his own. This time, she took the initiative, placing a light, almost teasing kiss on his lips. His brain registered that she was pulling away and sent his arms into immediate action. Pulling her tighter against him, his hand cupped the back of her neck holding her in place to take the kiss deeper.

Lindsey couldn't breathe as she felt the heat of his lips against her skin. No man had ever treated her like this. She inhaled the warm scent of his skin, which was tinged with some sort of aftershave and a rich, masculine scent. Lindsey shivered as he left her lips and trailed his kisses to her throat where he nibbled the sensitive skin there. Good grief, he was so innately masculine. So incredibly hot, and every lick he delivered to her skin made her stomach contract. "Make love to me." She was shocked that she had said it out loud.

Marcus pulled back, letting her words sink in. A smile that Lindsey had never seen before formed on his face. It was pure heat, and it made her body tingle in anticipation. Reaching up, he pulled her hair down around her shoulders. Running his hands through it, he pulled her lips to his. "Yes Ma'm," he whispered, before he ravaged her mouth again.

* * *

Katie Brown sat down at a table full of other women. They all slid their eyes to her, each of them wanting a certain question answered. She played a while with her coffee, adding just the right amount of cream and sugar, before finally looking up at them. "She wasn't in her room this morning."

Everyone tried to contain their smiles, as they too became very interested in their food. After a moment, Laura Cadman joined them. This time the scientists didn't have to wait, Cadman got right down to business. Taking a quick look around to see who else might over hear she leaned in closer to the center of the table. "He didn't show up for his normal Sunday morning workout." She waited a beat, so that everyone could let that information sink in, and then flashed everyone at the table a mega watt smile. "I knew that dress would be a killer!"

* * *

Lindsey came awake slowly. She could feel warmth to the side of her, and moved closer wanting to burrow into it. The instant her fingertips touched skin, the night before came flooding back.

"Good morning," Marcus said, wrapping his arms around her, gathering Lindsey close to him. "You okay?" He asked, placing a light kiss on her lips.

"You're amazing!" she blurted out, and then began worrying that she had said the wrong thing when Lorne fell to the mattress, shaking with laughter. She laid there, feeling her cheeks heat up. He probably thought she was some teenage girl, who couldn't have a normal conversation after sex. "I'm sorry," she clipped out and then started edging her way off the bed.

"Sorry?" Lorne asked, pulling her back around to face him. He still had a smile on his face, but Lindsey didn't think it was a mocking one. "That was the best possible thing you could ever have said to me."

"Then why are you laughing?" Lindsey mentally flinched at how needy she sounded.

"I am laughing at _me_, Lindsey." He said gently tracing her long neck. "I didn't realize how nervous I was, until you told me I was amazing. The relief that flooded through me just seemed funny at the time."

"_You_ were nervous?"

"Hell yes!" Marcus said, pulling her even closer entangling their legs together. "Here I was with a woman that men would die for, and I didn't want to mess it up."

"Men wouldn't die for me," Lindsey said, letting her head rest on his chest. "Men don't even _notice_ me."

"That's okay by me. While those sorry S.O.B.s are snoozing, I get to run away with the prize."

"So I'm a prize, huh?" Lindsey popped her head up, and smiled.

"You're the only prize in life that matters." Lorne said looking directly in her eyes. His eyes held none of the sarcasm they usually did, he was dead serious.

If it had been any other man saying that to her, Lindsey would have gone on a tirade about women being more than just a "trinket" for men to lust after, but hearing it from Marcus, she felt treasured. Treasured for everything that she was made of; mind, body, and spirit. Letting her own smile surface, she maneuvered their bodies so that she was straddling him. Leaning down, she took feminine pride in his eyes going dark with lust. "I think you should show me again why you _deserve_ the prize, Major."

* * *

There was an excitement buzzing around the room. The Daedalus scientists were finally going to find out what their test was going to be. Today was the start of their last week in class, and all were fired up to prove themselves. The gym door opened, and everyone came to their feet as not only Lorne came through the door, but also Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen." Sheppard said his voice light. When all the people continued to stare at him, he turned to Lorne and motioned to take over. Fighting back a smile, the Major stepped to the forefront and addressed the class.

"Colonel Sheppard is here because he will be an integral part of your test." Marcus let his eyes wander the group, until he came to rest on the ones he searched for. As always he felt his pulse quicken when he saw Lindsey. It was the beginning of their second week together. Soon this class would be over, and her ship would be leaving, but he didn't want to think about that right now. In fact, Marcus reminded himself, he shouldn't be thinking about her at all right this second. Mentally shaking himself, he again paid attention to the rest of the class. "In fact, we are still waiting for some more people before we tell you what is going on."

"Ah, here they are now." Sheppard cut in, as the gym door again slid open. The group was puzzled as other members of Sheppard's team walked in.

"Teyla, Ronon, and I will be breaking into teams." Marcus continued. "The Colonel will be in charge of the exercise. The test will be based on which team can come out alive."

"Alive!?" Tyler choked out, causing all eyes to focus on him. "Just what is our test going to be, Major?"

Marcus smiled and then let his eyes hit every single member of the class. "We are going to war."

* * *

"I'm excited about this," Benning cooed at the others while they sat in the mess hall eating lunch.

"Of course, _you_ would be excited." Tyler sneered. "Your team leader is Lorne, how can you fail with him? My team leader is Ronon, it's like he will eat me if we don't win."

They had all just come from their off-world class, and were excitedly chattering about their "test". Major Lorne had put together exactly what he said…a war. Each member of the class was assigned to their "commander" and would become a SG-team (four members plus the team leader). They were actually going to be able to go off-world (probably what they scientists were _most_ excited about) and participate in war games at the beta site. It was where the military assigned to Atlantis, did their own training ops, and the off-world class was going to take it over this coming up Sunday.

"I still wonder why Novak wasn't assigned to Lorne's team." Benning said as her eyes came to rest on the pair in the corner of the mess hall.

The other scientists followed her gaze, and stared for a bit. Lindsey Novak was practically shinning, while she laughed at something the Major was saying to her. That Novak and Lorne were dating was old news to everyone on Atlantis, most of the scientists in the off-world class accepted it with no qualms after it was proven that Lorne didn't treat Lindsey any differently, than before, in their class.

"Probably because they knew Tyler here, would blow a gasket if he thought there was any cheating going on." Andrews spoke up, causing the whole table to snort.

"I already looked into that," Tyler said, choosing to ignore the laughter. "Colonel Sheppard said that none of the team leaders knew any more than we did about Sunday's exercise."

"You actually went and bothered the Colonel to make sure no one could cheat?" Another scientist asked, most of the table staring at Tyler with their mouths hanging open.

"Yes, I did. He was actually quite abrupt with me about the whole thing."

* * *

"Monday will be here soon."

"You mean Sunday," Lorne said, pulling Lindsey closer as they leaned against the railing. "Sunday is when we have the test."

"No, Marcus, I mean Monday." She turned in his arms and looked up into his face. "Monday is when the Daedalus will be leaving."

Sighing, he leaned his forehead against hers. "I know, let's not talk about it now."

"Well, we're running out of time to talk about it." Lindsey whispered, moving to circle his waist and rest her head on his chest. She could hear his heart beating under her ear. If anyone had told her that she could know a man for a month, date him for two weeks and fall madly in love with him during that time, she would have called them crazy. Yet, here she was two weeks into a relationship, and she knew that no one could ever mean more to her than Marcus Lorne. She pined like a love sick fool when they had to be away from one another to do their jobs and worried herself into knots when he and his team were off-world. More and more she was feeling huge respect for military spouses and what they had to go through, at least _she_ had the classification to know what was going on…but she wasn't sure if that made it better or worse.

They had come to one of the out of the way balconies on Atlantis. Marcus had scrounged up food from the mess hall and brought a blanket, so they could have a picnic under the stars. The sound of the waves hitting against the city, the tangy smell of the ocean, and the cloudless star filled sky made a magical setting that only lovers could appreciate. Lindsey had joked that all that was missing was smooth jazz playing in the background.

"There really isn't much to say on the subject." Marcus broke into her thoughts, forcing her to pay attention to what he was saying. "There is nothing we can change about it. You have your job on the Daedalus, and I'm assigned to Atlantis. Talking about it will only get us down. We just need to have our fun while we can."

"Fun?" Lindsey stiffened, pulling herself out of his grasp. "Is that all this is, fun?"

Lorne knew he had just put his foot in his mouth, as he looked down into her hurt eyes. "No Lindsey…I didn't mean…" He reached out for her, but she moved further away.

"Thank you for the picnic, Major." She said in a cold formal tone, causing Marcus to flinch.

"Lindsey, listen to me…" Marcus started, but Lindsey was already out the door. He could hear her feet running down the deserted hallway. Swearing softly to himself, he followed. "Lindsey, stop!" He yelled as he ran after her.

The chase ended at the guest room, Lindsey was staying in during the month at Atlantis. He almost had the button pushed to open the door, when he heard the click of the lock. "Lindsey don't do this!" Marcus yelled and gave the button a try anyway. When the door stayed firmly closed, he hit it with his fist. "I didn't mean it the way you think!" He pressed his ear to the door, but heard no movement coming from her side. "Open the door, so we can talk!" he yelled, letting his fist hit the door, one more time.

Suddenly, Marcus could feel eyes burrowing into his back. Turning, he wanted to curse. There stood one of the Atlantis scientists…Miko, if he remembered the name correctly. She stood there staring at him, her eyes wide in shock. Looking further down the hall, he realized that there were several people who were standing right where Lindsey and he must have run past like bats out of hell. Most of the military personnel were moving on, their heads down pretending that they didn't notice one of Atlantis' ranking military officers acting crazy. Most of the civilians were staring at him exactly like Miko was. Turning back to the door, he gave the button one last push. When nothing happened, Marcus squared his shoulders and started walking back down the hallway. He didn't look to the left or right, he really didn't even care about what the people thought around him…he was more worried about what Lindsey thought.

Coming to his own quarters, Lorne thought back to his conversation with Lindsey. When he remembered the part of him saying they just need to have fun, he felt like kicking himself. He should have worded it better. For some reason, Lindsey was still very insecure about their relationship. No matter how many times he told her she was amazing, she always thought he would move on to some other woman. He could imagine what had gone through her thoughts when he used that phrase. To her, it was a confirmation of her worst fears, that he was using her for kicks and giggles…until she left and he could find someone else. "Lorne, you're a jackass," the Major mumbled to himself, as he pushed the button to enter his own room.

Looking around, he could see the little things that said Lindsey had been here often. She had several books littering his table, all written in machine code; he had teased her that those books were their own alien language. Sitting down at the side of his bed, a small smile formed when he looked down and saw a pink fuzzy slipper peeking from under one of the fallen blankets. The mere fact that there _was_ a blanket on the floor, denoted the changes Lindsey had brought in the two short weeks they had been seeing each other. Usually, Marcus was full on military when it came to his room. Everything was in its proper place at all times, and his blankets would have never dreamed of coming out of their tightly made corners. That had all come to a stop after Lindsey began spending time in his room. He remembered thinking that it was a good thing Sheppard didn't really conduct inspections like he should on the rooms, because his own room would fail miserably. Lindsey was such a messy person when it came to where she was living. She had told him that in her job, everything had to be precise and exact, so she liked a bit of clutter in her room. Marcus smiled when he remembered her explanation of the room not being dirty. She had said that dirty implied unclean, and went on to say that everything in the room was clean; it was just not set with perfect precision on the desk or in the closet. She had used the word "homey" to describe his new and improved (to her, anyway) room.

Out of the blue, a thought hit him. He loved Lindsey Novak.

* * *

Sunday was finally here, and Major Lorne was about as pissed off as a man could be. He had tried to talk to Lindsey every day, several times a day even, but had been stonewalled. The off-world class had split into their teams, so he didn't even have class to try and clear things up. It had irritated him to no end, to have to watch her across the room practicing with Teyla's group and have no way of talking to her alone. He had even braved Hermiod's ire and tried to talk to her on the Daedalus. She had asked him politely, but firmly to leave.

"Everyone ready?"

Lorne came out of his dark thoughts, when Colonel Sheppard spoke from the doorway. Forcing himself to be the leader he was, Marcus turned to his commanding officer and gave him a tight smile. "All teams are ready and waiting, sir."

"Good," John said, looking at each team commander with a huge grin on his face. "Let's go have some fun." He turned, and the others began to follow the Colonel out of the room. Lorne stayed back, hoping that he would be able to snag Lindsey for a quick second. It was quite a sting to his heart, when she walked right passed him, for all intents and purposes, ignoring him.

"Major, are you okay?"

Lorne almost jumped when Doctor Benning placed her hand on his shoulder. Looking around he realized that his "team", had been standing around waiting to follow him out. Telling himself to get it together, he gave all of them a smile he hoped was reassuring. "Let's move out."

By the time, his group got to the gate, Lindsey had already gone through. He didn't let himself think about Lindsey, right then. It was game time, and he needed his game face. He and his team might not be going to a real war, but he was going to treat it like one. One thing that his commanding officers had always told him, was to practice like it was the real thing…so when the real thing actually came, you would be ready for it. Scanning his team's off-world gear, he gave each of them a nod when he saw that they had all the correct equipment, and it was all in the right place. "Okay people, listen up. Jensen you're on point, and I'll cover our sixes. Does everyone remember the rules Colonel Sheppard told us earlier?" The group all gave him excited nods, and then walked towards the gate. Lorne could see that some hesitated, but it was brief, and in what felt like a second his team had arrived at the site.


	3. Chapter 3

"So people, this is pretty much like capture the flag combined with laser tag

"So people, this is pretty much like capture the flag combined with laser tag." John Sheppard said as he was giving his last minute speech to the group. He had just gotten through explaining that their tack vests were programmed to show a kill or wound depending on where they were hit on their body with the "gun". Each team was given a mission to perform, and would be graded on their ability to get it done and making it through all the surprises Sheppard had planned for them. "Okay, I want to talk to the team commanders now."

"Did you really assign guys to be the tangos?" Lorne asked as they all drew near.

"Assign?" John smiled at his question. "I had guys begging to be the ambush squad; this is like R&R for them."

* * *

Several hours later, the teams were again gathered to start heading back to Atlantis. All in all, the "missions" were successes. Ronon's group suffered the most casualties, but mostly because Tyler kept taking his team mates out with friendly fire. The team had still completed their task, but came in dead last. Teyla's team was the first to complete their mission, and the scientists in her team were trying hard not to lord it over the rest. Lorne's team came in second, but he maintained that the whole thing was rigged for the simple fact that every single tango that they encountered had been men from his own team and they knew what the Major was going to do before he even did it. Marcus and Colonel Sheppard had had a friendly debate about the fairness of _that_ one. Now the gear was all packed up, and they were starting the trek back to the gate.

"Can I talk to you?"

Lindsey had known that Marcus was close behind her, but was a little surprised that he was approaching her in front of everyone. Sighing, Lindsey turned to face him. "We've had our _fun_, there is nothing else to say."

"I didn't mean it like that." Lorne said, grasping her arm when Lindsey tried to turn away from him. "It was a bad choice of words."

"So how did you mean it?" Lindsey asked, and stepped to the side to let the others move past them. She waited for a beat, but then rolled her eyes and turned away when Marcus said nothing. "That's what I thought."

"What does _that_ mean?"

"It _means_ that I knew you didn't really want to fix this between us."

"Hey! I'm not the one who avoided a conversation for days." Marcus said throwing up his hands. "It seems _you're_ the one who didn't want to fix things between us."

"Just because I didn't want to stand there and hear you say _lets be friends_ doesn't mean that I didn't want to fix it."

"What? Lindsey you aren't making a damn bit of sense!"

"Yeah…well…screw you!"

"Oh, real mature!" Marcus yelled after the retreating figure.

Lindsey heard his comment, and the muttered curse words that came after. She knew she was being a dork, but she didn't have much of a plan, so figured the "screw you and running" one was as good as any. If she was truly brave she would stand her ground, tell him she loved him, and then take whatever happened, but she wasn't brave. Lindsey heard Marcus's footsteps getting closer, and doubled her pace. Coming to the crest of what some of the marines called heart-attack hill, she began to make her way down.

"Will you stop!" Marcus started down the hill after her.

"Leave me alone!" Lindsey turned, and then felt the rocks shift and her foot slip. Her body swayed from side to side as she tried to regain balance. The last thing Lindsey saw was the horrified look on Lorne's face as she tumbled down the hill.

* * *

Fighting her way through the fog, Lindsey slowly began hearing faint beeps, and snatches of murmured words. Forcing her eyelids open, she blinked at the bright light that met her eyes.

"Lindsey? Can you hear me?"

"Marcus?" Lindsey mumbled when a shadow leaned over her, blocking out some of the harsh light.

"Doctor Beckett, Lindsey is awake!" Marcus squeezed Lindsey's hand, and felt happiness flood him when, unlike the last half hour, she squeezed his.

Before Lindsey could say anything else, Lorne let go of her hand and another shadow took his place.

"Do you know where you are, Doctor Novak?" Carson asked, as he began checking the back of her eyes with an ophthalmoscope.

"In the medical bay on Atlantis." Lindsey answered, and than winced as Carson changed to a pen-light to check her pupils.

"Do you know why you are here?"

"I fell down a hill." Lindsey's throat was so dry it hurt to speak, and she was starting to get annoyed by the pen-light. Her head was throbbing, and all she wanted was for Marcus to take her hand again.

"How many fingers do you see?" Carson clicked off the pen-light and then held up one finger.

"One." Lindsey was beginning to feel sleepy again and wanted the twenty questions to stop.

"Okay, luv, follow my finger with your eyes."

Fatigue was starting to set in and Lindsey had to work hard to follow what looked like a floating finger. Fighting an insane urge to giggle, Lindsey tried to focus in on what Beckett was asking her.

"Lindsey, how old are you?"

Jerking back awake, it took Lindsey awhile for Carson's question to make sense. "None of your business." She mumbled, as her eyes slid shut again.

Turning toward Lorne, Carson gave him a reassuring smile. "It's good that Doctor Novak woke up so soon. There is no evidence of swelling and she was able to answer all my questions. We will continue to wake her every hour until we are sure her head has sustained no damage." Glancing over his shoulder, Carson could see Weir and Caldwell entering the med-bay. "Why don't you go get cleaned up, Major. There is nothing you can do for a little while."

Sighing, Marcus turned back toward Lindsey as Carson walked away. Nasty cuts and scrapes were all down her arms, and Lorne knew that she would have some monster bruises. "See you in an hour, Lindsey." Marcus whispered, placing a light kiss on her forehead.

Walking toward his room, Marcus finally let his mind replay the horrible image on Lindsey's body at the bottom of heat-attack hill. Running down the hill (he still wasn't sure how he had made it down without killing himself) he had checked to see that Novak was still breathing and then called for help on his radio. It had taken all his willpower not to grab Lindsey himself and make a run for the gate, but his first aide training had kicked in telling him not to move her. It had seemed like a million years before Carson and his team had finally shown up.

"Carson just called to say Novak had finally woken up."

Marcus turned away from his thoughts at the sound of John Sheppard's voice. "Yeah, I was there when she woke up."

"Ahh." Sheppard crossed his arms over his chest, and gave Lorne a knowing look. "How are you holding up Major?"

"I'm fine, Sir," Marcus said, not quite meeting his commanding officer's eyes.

"Okay." Sheppard said, using his "you're not fooling me, but I'll let it pass" voice. "Go get cleaned up, Lorne. Carson says that you have a hour until they wake Doctor Novak up again."

Not sure that he liked the fact that the whole of Atlantis seemed to know about him and Lindsey, Marcus gave Sheppard a nod and then continued toward his room.

* * *

Lindsey could hear someone calling her name. Forcing her eyes open, the blurry image of Carson was again above her.

"Do you know where you are?"

Blinking a few times to get rid of the haziness, Lindsey frowned. "We already did these questions Doctor Beckett."

"That we did, Doctor Novak, it's good that you remember." Carson said and than turned toward someone behind him. "I'll go let Weir and Caldwell know she is more awake this time."

Lindsey felt her heart flutter as Marcus took Beckett's place. "Marcus, you're here." Marcus looked fabulous. He was in civilian clothing, and had a sexy five o'clock shadow. Lindsey could tell that he looked tired, but that seemed to only add to his whole adorableness. Suddenly feeling awkward and shy, Lindsey searched for something to say. "Well, you didn't need to-"

"I love you." Marcus smiled at her dumbfounded look. Moving closer he took her hand into his. "I love you more than life itself, Lindsey Novak." Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, Marcus bent down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "And I also want to say that I am a total jackass and never meant to hurt your feelings."

"You love me?" Lindsey asked still looking bewildered. Random, crazy thoughts began coming full blast into her brain. Thoughts of this is a dream, or that she is really dying and Marcus was only saying this to her because she didn't have long to live, but before she could voice any of these things, Marcus brushed his knuckle down her cheek.

"Whatever thoughts are rolling around in that beautiful head of yours, tell them to stop. When I say that I love you, I mean just that. I love you."

Feeling tears well up in her eyes, Lindsey placed her own hand over his on her cheek. "I love you too, Marcus Lorne."

* * *

"Do you have somewhere else to be, Major?"

"What?" Lorne asked looking across the table where John Sheppard sat. They had been going over the training schedule for some of the newer members of Atlantis, and now Sheppard was rolling his eyes at him.

"You've checked the clock non-stop for the last half hour."

Marcus could feel his face start to heat up. Embarrassment was not usually at the top of his feelings, but the amusement on John's face made him squirm. "Sorry, I am just due to take leave in about another half-hour. I guess I am just getting antsy."

"Ah, leave." John said crossing his arms over her chest and leaning back in his chair. "Have anything exciting planned?"

"Not really." Lorne said, missing the full fledged smile that his commander was sending him as he glanced at the clock again.

"Well, I'll be leaving so you can get everything finished up before your leave begins." John said as he started for the door. Turning right before he hit the hallway, Sheppard looked back at Lorne. "Oh, by the way, the Daedalus sent a subspace message before I came to our meeting. They are ahead of schedule; in fact they are probably already docking." Stepping out of the way, John watched as Marcus Lorne took to the hallway at a dead run, not even bothering to be dismissed.

* * *

"It's sickening the way those two act around each other." Cadman said as she sat with Katie Brown and Miko in the mess hall. The other two women gave half-hearted nods, as they all looked at the corner table where Novak and Lorne were sitting. The couples first year together had been an interesting one. Most of Atlantis thought they would never be able to survive a "galaxies away" relationship, but they were now into their second year and seemed to be going strong.

"You know, I heard that Major Lorne sent an order to Earth recently. It was said that it was for some type of jewelry," Katie Brown said, causing the other two women to gasp. "I also saw Lorne having a quiet little conference with one of the military guys from the Daedalus. It looked like he was passed a small box shaped item."

"No way!" Cadman leaned even closer to Katie. "How do you scientists get this type of intel? Do you think he has proposed to her already?"

The three women again turned to the couple in the corner with small sighs. "Nah, but I bet it will be soon." Katie answered a small smile on her face. "Lindsey already came by earlier today for another dress." The three all looked at each other for a moment before they burst out into peals of laughter.

* * *

"So, you asked Novak to accept the position yet?"

Elizabeth shook her head, and took a sip of tea before she answered John's question. "I thought that I would wait to see what her answer was to the Major's questions first, before I asked mine."

"I still can't believe the military is going to let a married couple serve together."

"You forget, John, that Doctor Novak isn't military. Plus the person running this show isn't military."

"True," John said as he took a sip from his own cup. The two leaders had been having nightcaps with each other for some time now. It was a good way to wind down from a hard day's work. "I guess it is good that the scientist and the Major have you as their boss."

* * *

Walking hand in hand down the long strip of beach on the mainland, Lindsey leaned her head against Marcus's shoulder. She knew that Marcus had been tense all night, but wasn't sure how to bring up the subject. Lindsey was just about to ask straight out what on earth was wrong, when Marcus came to a dead stop and turned towards her. She was shocked to see him sweating. "What's wrong?"

"What? No, nothings wrong, I just have something I want to talk to you about." Marcus said and then took a deep breath.

"Oh no, you're breaking up with me aren't you." It wasn't a question, more of a statement as Lindsey wrapped her arms around herself as if to shield herself. "It's okay I understand. We had a good two years…well not even truly two years, more like a year and seven months, but they were good. I just want you to know that I wish you the best-"

"Why are you _always_ giving me this "have a good life" speech?" Marcus huffed, running his hands through his hair. "I'm not breaking up with you, just like I wasn't breaking up with you two days ago." Lifting Lindsey's chin, Marcus kissed her lips softly. "If I have any say on the future, we will never be breaking up."

"I'm sorry," Lindsey moved into Marcus's warmth wrapping her arms around him. "I know I'm neurotic." Feeling him shake from laughter, Lindsey glanced up. "What?"

"You are the only woman I know who would mess up a proposal."

"I know, I always say things before thinking…a proposal?" Lindsey pulled back, looking directly into Marcus's smiling face. She could feel her heart speed up, and a completely giddy feeling came over her. Not quite daring to believe what was happening, she could feel tears welling up in her eyes as Marcus got down on one knee and opened a black velvet box.

"Lindsey Novak, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

The tears were now freely flowing down Lindsey's face. Taking the sparkling diamond, she clutched it to her heart. "Of course I'll marry you."

Coming to his feet, Marcus pulled her in for a soft kiss and then rested his forehead against hers. "You've made me the happiest man in the world."

They held each other for a short moment, until Lindsey's brain kicked into high gear. "We need to make so many plans. Where will we live? What will we do? I mean I know what we will do, you'll be in the Air Force and I'll be a scientist…but how will we do that together? Can we even get married? I mean maybe I have to clear this with Colonel Caldwell. Oh my gosh, Caldwell? How do I tell him that I am going to leave the ship and marry you? Can I even stay here on Atlantis-?"

With a chuckle, Marcus kissed the top of Lindsey's head, cutting off her frantic rambling. "Lindsey, calm down. We have plenty of time to get this all worked out. Besides I think Weir might be calling you in soon for a little chat."

"So you have this all worked out, huh?" Lindsey said as she pressed herself further into his warmth.

"Yep, I even have leave so we can go and let our families know about it."

"Oh, your mother will be so happy! The last time I visited with her, she kept dropping hints about having her little Marky settled down with a good woman."

"My mother is _nothing_ compared to yours. Remember Christmas? She almost cried when I got you a sweater instead of a ring. I was served the tiniest piece of cake after that. Plus your mother's most recent letter to me has marriage, married, or ring in almost every paragraph."

"She just wants you to make an honest woman out of me." Lindsey teased and then pulled back taking his hand in hers. Giving him her best "come hither" look, she started pulling him toward the jumper. "Would you care to escort me back to your room, Major?"

* * *

Katie Brown got a knock on her door early the next morning. Opening it, she was almost blinded by the huge rock that was thrust into her line of sight.

"It looks like I will need another dress soon," Lindsey smiled at her dear friend. "Only this time I don't think any of you girls on Atlantis will have the one I am searching for stuffed in the back of your closet."


End file.
